


I've Got You

by angelwing (orphan_account)



Category: In the Flesh (TV)
Genre: Abusive Father, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Oneshot, Pre-Series, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-18 11:02:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3567266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/angelwing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The thought hurts. Kieren doesn’t want to say it, but it hurts, and he draws in a trembling breath. Even if it was fake, the idea of Rick being with someone, being with some girl, to please his father, sickens and angers and scares him and he doesn’t know how he’d be able to deal with it, or if he’d be able to deal with it at all, if he can’t even deal with the thought of it.</p><p>“You won’t leave me, right, Ren?”</p><p>------------------</p><p>Rick has a talk with his dad that ends badly. The next day he and Kieren meet up in their hiding place and discuss what the future might have in store for their almost-relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I've Got You

**Author's Note:**

> DOES ANYONE KNOW THAT FEELING WHEN YOU FEEL REALLY BAD SO You just kind of write out a super super quick fluffy little oneshot to make yourself happy and calm down. That is literally what this is. I don't write about Rick enough and tonight was really stressful so I just. Wrote out a really quick sweet oneshot for these two.
> 
> Also it's 1:30 am and editing is minimal so bear with me I'll go back and edit again tomorrow too.. I hope you enjoy though!

Kieren gets the note as he’s walking out of the classroom. It’s subtle, almost subtle enough that he misses it, but he notices the way Rick brushes past him, the way his hand just barely reaches out enough to press the sticky note to the bottom of the binder in Kieren’s hands. Before he can ask about it, Rick is off, walking quickly down the hall to the last period of the day. Quicker than usual, Kieren thinks. Something is wrong.

He doesn’t actually notice the note until he’s sitting down for his next class. He pulls it from the cover of the binder and reads it, and his brow furrows worriedly.

_Ren,_  
_Meet me in the cave after school today, okay? We gotta talk._  
_-Rick xx_

Kieren is worried, how could he not be, but he knows it won’t do him any good to dwell on it now. Instead, he spends the class period distracted, listening only vaguely to what the teacher says, spending most of his time doodling rather than taking notes. The teacher knows, Kieren knows she does, but she doesn’t say anything. This isn’t the first time he’s spaced out in class.

Finally, the bell rings, and Kieren is on his way, all but running from the classroom. He considers going to find Rick now, because he knows what classroom he’s in, but he decides against it. If Rick is communicating through notes, it’s probably for a good reason, Kieren figures.

So instead, he leaves the school and begins to walk, leaving Roarton and heading into the woods. Most people would stay away from here - there are rumors that it’s haunted, that people have been murdered or gone missing here. He doesn’t really believe it, but he’s definitely grateful for the stories. It makes the place more secluded, and keeps unwanted trespassers from finding his and Rick’s hiding place.

Speaking of Rick, he isn’t anywhere to be seen when Kieren arrives at the cave. This doesn’t do anything to ease his nerves and he ends up sitting near the front of the small cave, knees brought to his chest as he hugs himself nervously. Rick is fine, he thinks, he _knows_. Rick is definitely fine. Kieren’s anxiety has always been terrible, always looked for something to worry about, and the thought of something happening to Rick is almost always the first thing to come to mind. So this is nothing new, at least.

And Rick does finally show up. He has an apologetic look on his face, and he breathes out a quick, “Sorry, Ren. Know I said after school but me dad came to pick me up and I had t’get out of it.” He’s a little paler than usual, and Kieren frowns.

Still, he’s happy to see Rick. He turns and crawls a bit deeper into the cave, and Rick follows, and when he finally stops and sits back against the wall, Rick sits beside him.

“So what is it?”

“What?” Rick blinks, staring at Kieren. Kieren notices the nervousness in his features that Rick himself probably isn’t even aware of.

Kieren rolls large brown eyes. “Why did you want to meet here? Why were you passing notes like a third grader?” he asks, and he shoves Rick playfully, before shifting just a bit closer, sitting close enough that their legs are pressed together, side by side in the dark cave. This is the only chance they get for physical intimacy of any kind, and while that doesn’t necessarily mean anything sexual, it certainly means taking advantage of the privacy to be as close as possible. Kieren places a hand on Rick’s leg.

Rick leans against the other boy, and then, hesitantly, reaches a hand out to rest on top of Kieren’s. “Dad and I have gotten into some shit again.” he says quietly, and his eyes travel to the ground, away from Kieren.

Voice gentle, Kieren asks, “What happened?” Because he knows. He knows what Bill is like - probably even more than Rick does. Because Rick can’t always see how awful he is. But Kieren can. And Kieren is there to ground Rick when he starts forgetting, starts thinking, _maybe my father isn’t the piece of complete and utter garbage that I think he is._

“Says I should have a girlfriend by now.” Rick’s voice is even quieter, dropped down to a soft mutter, and Kieren breathes out a long sigh. “An- And you came up. We fought last night a bit and you came up.”

Oh. Kieren blinks, going pale, because they had worked so hard to make sure they’re never seen together. Had something gone wrong?

“Just asked if we still talked. Said we didn’t, ‘course. I mean, I said we only talked in school ‘n shit. Said I knew you were bad news and you’d mess me up if we were around each other.” And then Rick turns, and his eyes meet Kieren’s, and they’re wide and full of guilt and fear and worry and he squeezes the hand beneath his own tightly. “I didn’t mean it, Ren. Y’know I didn’t. I wouldn’t ever feel that way about you.”

Kieren nods. And he is a little hurt, that Rick would ever say it at all, but he knows it can’t be helped. Because it’s either that, or… well, Kieren isn’t even sure what Bill would do if he knew even the slightest bit about their relationship, as awkward and unofficial and confusing as it is, and he certainly doesn’t want to find out.

So he just smiles a bit. “S’okay, Rick.” he promises.

Rick squeezes Kieren’s hand again, and looks down for a second time. “What if I do hafta get a girlfriend?” He asks. “I don’t _want_ a girlfriend. I want…” He wants _Kieren_ , but he can’t say that. Not even now, when it’s just the two of them. Because if his father heard, if his father somehow found out… He shudders. “Y’won’t leave, will ya? If I hafta do bullshit like that for me dad?”

The thought hurts. Kieren doesn’t want to say it, but it hurts, and he draws in a trembling breath. Even if it was fake, the idea of Rick being with someone, being with some _girl_ , to please his father, sickens and angers and scares him and he doesn’t know how he’d be able to deal with it, or if he’d be able to deal with it at all, if he can’t even deal with the _thought_ of it.

“You won’t leave me, right, Ren?”

Rick asks again, because apparently Kieren has been silent for awhile now. Kieren bites his lower lip and shakes his head. “Yeah, ‘course I won’t.”

Rick smiles a little, but there’s still worry in his face, because he’s aware of how long Kieren took to answer that question. “You mean that?”

“Definitely.” Kieren promises. And there’s still pain, still so many emotions that he almost feels guilty for feeling. But Rick matters more than that. He thinks back to his fantasies, as both a child and now, of all the stories he read and the movies he watched, and he knows that every relationship has its problems. Every couple struggles sometimes. They’ve been struggling their whole lives, but they’ve made it work. Sort of. “I wouldn’t leave you for the world, Rick.”

And now Kieren’s cheeks are pink, and he looks down, at Rick’s hand, still tightly gripping his own. He chuckles, because he doesn’t know what else to do, because he feels a little flustered and a little nervous and a little overwhelmed. And then he forces himself to snap out of it, because he thinks he must look pathetic, and he looks up at Rick, meeting his eyes.

And then Rick leans in and presses his lips to Kieren’s cheek, kissing him, and Kieren’s eyes go wide, cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red. He looks over, eyes wide and staring, and Rick has a bewildered, dazed look on his face, because they haven’t done that before, haven’t actually kissed before, and neither seem sure of what brought it on now.

Then Rick clears his throat and says, “Just… wanted to make sure that if I did do that with a girl she wouldn’t be the first…” Kieren finds himself laughing lightly at that, but he doesn’t say anything, because he’s still overwhelmed by it all. Still, his eyes are lit up with delight and there’s a grin on his face that he can’t seem to get rid of, which Rick takes as a good sign, because he leans in again, but this time, his mouth meet Kieren’s and he kisses him full on the lips.

But it’s quick. So, so quick, because Rick suddenly seems to remember where he is and who he is and who _they_ are and he pulls away. “S- Sorry.”

“Y’don’t have to apologize,” Kieren says, and his voice is a little hoarse, and he still can’t stop smiling. He reaches up with the hand that isn’t trapped by Rick’s and runs a finger over his own lips, in awe over the feeling of Rick’s mouth pressed against them, as brief as it had been.

And then, to make sure, Kieren asks, “If you do have to get a girl for your dad, you won’t actually fall in love, right?”

Rick laughs at the thought. “No way. I’m pretty picky, y’know. I wouldn’t just run off with some girl.” Kieren hums and leans against Rick, resting his head on the other boy’s shoulder. Rick grins, forgetting about his father, forcing all of that aside and instead focusing all of his attention on the beautiful boy beside him. “‘Specially not when I’ve got you.”

-end


End file.
